Using the Internet in Healthcare

A personal review by Rod Ward 5.1.2000

The Internet is having an increasing effect on healthcare and this book is a useful contribution to the growing body of literature in the field.

It is fairly clearly written, avoiding a lot of the jargon (although a glossary would still have been useful), and providing an introductory guide. This history of the internet and some general pointers about it's use are given, before going into more detail on email and the World Wide Web (including searching, surfing and sifting), and other internet tools, service providers and equipment,
with some useful hints and tips. Most of these sections are very general and only obliquely related to the healthcare arena.

The section on validity and security is perhaps a little brief for such an important area in healthcare practice. The section on Intranets (those within an organisation, rather than the Internet itself) is followed by a case study, written by Mike Ingham, about the development of an Intranet for an NHS trust as part of it's Information, Management and Technology (IM&T) strategy and wider
business case, for me this was the most interesting section of the book.

The concluding chapters give a brief introduction to the design of web pages including basic HTML and some of the issues to be considered, and a brief discussion about the future of the Internet with some implications for the NHS, patients and health professionals.

The book does have a useful contribution to make for novices setting out to find out more about Intranets and the Internet, but will leave those wanting to take their knowledge further or examine the specific implications for health care disappointed.